Cool Perth Night Chats

Cool Perth Night's responds to the news that the next WA state budget will hold a $3 million commitment over four years to contemporary music.

We support this investment on basis it is over and above existing funding to the contemporary music industry as already distributed by Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au

As long as it goes into long term strategies such as real work toward determining new legislation for entertainment zones (Northbridge, Angove St, North Freo Town Centre) to recognise these zones and their venues as integral to nurturing talent in established live music venues. This will be achieved by resources going toward production of legislation to increase permissible music levels from live music venues within these registered zones.

As a second mechanism for protecting live music venues the funding must go toward legislation which ratifies a binding credence and respect for established live music businesses; whereby live music venues of recent historic cultural significance are prioritised by law for their nurturing of talent above the wants of those businesses and residents who move near to such venues. With such a policy in place the common sense of ‘I was here first’ will then protect the vibrancy and value of entertainment zones through state legislated protection of live music venues.

Spacey Jane by Tashi Hall

The money must also go into youth audience development through projects like CPN and HQ Sweet Oblivion project amongst other youth audience development programs - if there is going to be a development for the WA music industry amongst future generations.

These are measures that, once made, are irreversibly nurturing to the industry as a whole - as $3M in the context of things is a VERY small amount of money - as compared to the enormous subsidies to mining industries – for example.

Talent is a renewable resource - time for proper investment – but with only such a small cash injection at this stage this $3M can only be applied to strictly long term solutions.